BTA Episode 06: The Scaly Retrieval
by J-Dub -Silver Enigma
Summary: An S-ranked mission challenges a chosen few of the Bean Titans. A young Bean Titan becomes a runaway. With the heroes shorthanded, can they save him in time?
1. What Happens in Vegas

**Welcome [once again], to this, the sixth "episode" in the BTA saga!**

**Taking place shortly after the DepxFortress moment, this part is, in many ways, similar to the Sasuke Retrieval arc in Naruto (for those of you that have seen it). As the title should depict, Scaly will be the one who defects from the Bean Titans, in search of what he desires. I can't reveal too much information though, as this is more of an action series... so you'll have to see for yourselves. ;)**

**As always, the same concepts still apply: this is still (and always will be) about the life and times of the Beanie Babies I own. The text alterations still apply. Plus, feel free to give me your opinions about my stories.**

**EDIT: I feel like a newb, since I thought that "OOC" meant "out of control". It's "out of character", but it could be both, right?**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**~BTA Part 6: The Scaly Retriveal~**

Chapter 1 — What Happens in Vegas...

The Bean Titans find themselves in a risky situation—holding one of their wrestling entertainment nights in Las Vegas. The good news, obviously, is that it is in Las Vegas; however, the city is near the location of Wrinkle's hideout (the **former** Area 51), in the desert lands west of the city. They do not want to risk a confrontation with Wrinkle or any of his subordinates. Since they cannot disappoint the people, the Bean Titans must have a show in Las Vegas.

The outcome? The night went without conflict, and because of this, the Bean Titans had time to do what they wanted for the rest of the night.

"Sweet." called Sly, requesting the leader's attention.

"Yes, Sly?"

"A group of us want to go out into the desert and look for this cliff. We want to get on it and just camp out."

"Are you sure? Who's in the group?"

"Me, Ears, Scaly, Felix..." Mooch began to call names.

When Sweet heard the first couple of names, he already knew that he could trust the group. "Say no more. You all may go, but just be careful though; we are very close to our enemies right now." Sweet said.

"Will do." Sly replied.

Sweet thought about his decision for a moment. He knew that Sly was the captain of the Bean Titans below the Legendary 12, but Sweet also knew that Mooch and Hippie always backed Sly, as the three of them are best friends. Sweet was the only one who was told by Mooch that himself and Hippie were going to be out training for another week. Nevertheless, Sweet trusted all three of them.

* * *

Ears used the power of the Shard of Lightning (Shen Gong Wu—a scepter of sorts with a baby blue sphere as the head, which is surrounded by three black "wires") to find the cliff and move everyone there in flashes of light.

The Bean Titans in the group were Sly, Ears, Scaly, Felix, Slowpoke, Bongo, Megan, Hoppity, Christina, Bonnie, Lucy and Fortune. Upon the cliff, the twelve of them set up a campsite, as promised, to sit around or look up at the night sky.

"Geez, Scaly. What's your streak now, 5-20?" Bongo questioned.

"Bongo! Don't bug him!" Sly warned. He and Christina were concerned for Scaly because he had been losing a lot of wrestling matches lately.

Scaly walked away from the campsite without saying a word.

Slowpoke knocked Bongo on his head. "Think about what you have to say next time, banana-for-brains!"

"Well, someone had to say something! It's not like someone's writing a script to get one of us to piss him off." Bongo replied.

Hoppity stood up and moved to Bongo to place her foot on his head and push it down on the ground. "Just don't be such an idiot..." she told him, releasing her foot.

_"Oh, sure! I'm everyone's punching bag!"_ Bongo thought.

"I heard that." Hoppity said, easily eavesdropping on his thoughts.

Christina stood. "I'll go check on him." she said, walking off to find her boyfriend.

Slowpoke sighed.

"What's with you?" Fortune asked.

"What worries me... is what Scaly could do to anybody, with that attitude." Slowpoke responded.

"At least he's not the old Mac." Bonnie pointed out.

"He'll be fine." Megan stated, after sipping her "famous" herbal tea. "Knowing that Christina is there for him, he wouldn't think about hurting her."

"What are you drinking?" Felix asked.

"Tea. It calms the soul."

"Sly, your fiancée is starting to creep me out." Ears whispered.

"And that's why you don't see why I love her."

Suddenly, Christina's body flew into the back tent of the campsite. Everyone saw this.

"I think we're in trouble..." Bonnie uttered, as Reptilius slowly walked towards the group.

"I'll check on Christina. The rest of you stop him." Sly said.

"All right then. He can't handle all of us." Bongo presumed, judging by the numbers.

"Are you sure you want to try your luck?" Reptilius questioned, exhibiting enough spiritual pressure to cut the cliff in half.

Sly caught his sister by the arm, before she fell off of the broken cliff. He brought her up, and she was okay. "Sis, where's Scaly?"

"Four baddies from Wrinkle's gang took him out to the range. Reptilius got in my way before I could get Scaly back."

"I'll go get him." Sly said, bringing Christina up and then dashing off into the range.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Before we go another round, I want you four to think about what you're doing... because I'm in a bad mood right now." Scaly said to Ants (anteater), Scurry, Burn and Bruno.

"Relax. It's not like you're gonna literally blow up in our faces." Ants replied.

"Besides, your lungs will burst before you have the chance to make another threat!" Scurry said, charging in.

"Blight." Scaly mentioned, causing a poisonous light green miasma to burst forth upon the four baddies and obscuring their view. When the miasma settled, not one of them were in sight. "I warned you guys."

"Warned us what?" Burn questioned, as he and Bruno held Scaly's legs, making him immobile.

"Now hold still..." Ants said, preparing to use a Summoning Jutsu by biting his thumbs. "Summoning Jutsu: Black Reaper Ant!" A big black ant with scythes for legs appeared, with an aim to kill anyone who had their legs tied down. "Rip him to shreds." Ants commanded, making the insect run to Scaly.

"I've had enough!" Scaly yelled, using his tail to grasp Burn's throat and toss him into Bruno on the other side. Scaly was able to move again, but he stood right where he was. "Serum Gaze!" he shouted, giving the Black Reaper Ant a deadly green-eyed glare. This glare caused an implosion of acid to burst out of the insect and slowly eat it alive.

The four foes regrouped again, planning to assault Scaly all at once. They were stopped by four clones of Sly, each using a Rasengan to push them away. The real Sly appeared after the clones disappeared.

"I don't need your help, Sly!" Scaly shouted.

"Scaly. I'm your friend first, and your comrade second... be considerate for once."

"Cut the crap. We're rivals and you know it!"

"Then why do you side with him?" Wrinkle asked. Somehow, he showed up nonchalantly while the "rivals" were talking.

"Because I'm-" Scaly was interrupted by Wrinkle's hands in his and Sly's faces.

"Don't tell me... just think about it." Wrinkle said, applying a force wave on the both of them, pushing them against a giant boulder.

After that, all of the evildoers left the scene.

Sly got up. "Scaly..."

"Don't say another word to me." Scaly backtalked, walking away from Sly.

Sly sighed in shame. He never wanted to literally say that they are rivals, yet he knows that they have edgy boundaries. Sly is over the fact that Scaly is with Christina, since that was their choice to make. The one thing that Sly wants to prevent, however, is he and Scaly becoming enemies.

**/-/**

And that may turn out for the worse...

Chapter 2 coming at ya.


	2. Goodbye?

Chapter 2 — Goodbye?

After a while, the twelve Bean Titans rejoined the rest of the team to go back to the Home Base for some much needed rest. Upon arrival, Sweet was notified by Lucky (of Titans X) that the Moon Base needed only a few finishing touches before it was considered complete. That was the good news. The bad news was that it would require the help of a majority of the Bean Titans, and with Wrinkle on the prowl again, that would be a problem. The Legendary 12 announced that Scorch would be the supervisor of the Home Base Protection Squad, over Pouch (his kangaroo wife), Sly, Christina, Scaly, Slowpoke, Crunch, Megan, Chipper and Fortune. The rest of the Bean Titans were to be at the Moon Base by daybreak (8:00 AM).

Scaly decided to stay up past midnight, still bothered about the events of recent times. Now, he feels that he has failed as a Bean Titan, despite his strength. Scaly needed to find a place where disappointment does not exist... but realistically, even he knows that there is no such place. Still, he loathed the life that he lived; he did not want to be a Titan anymore, throwing his wristwatch out of his window.

There was a knock on his door.

"Go away." he said abruptly.

"It's me." Christina's voice was heard.

"...All right." Scaly responded, opening the door to see his girlfriend. He did not look directly at her though, thinking about his decision where there is no turning back.

"It's my birthday now (Feb. 13)... do you want to hear my wish?"

Scaly still did not look at her. "Why? Shouldn't you keep that to yourself, before you have your cake?"

"I know, but I wanna tell you. Look, I know you're bummed about what happened earlier—"

Hearing the word "earlier" triggered Scaly against Christina, finally looking at her, but with rage. "Earlier? EARLIER?" Scaly hissed, causing his girl to jump back to the wall.

"Wait... Scaly, why are you—?" she was interrupted again.

"No! I don't want to hear about 'earlier' anymore! My wrestling streak... I've lost more than 20 matches in a row. Your brother, always coming to the rescue because he's captain and all!"

Christina starts tearing, sad about his reaction right now. "Well, it's not my fault that things are the way you like it... just keep trying—"

"For what?" Scaly backtalked a third time. "To get things blown in my face again? For the past six months, it's been just constant shit thrown at me, some of which I KNOW I don't need! I won't live through that!"

There was a pause for about 30 seconds. Scaly was set on his decision now, but Christina was unaware of it. She was scared, feeling endangered by the sound of Scaly yelling at her. She dropped to the floor, curling her knees up to her chest and hugging them with her arms.

"I'm leaving." Scaly announced to her, beginning to walk down the hall.

She was shocked. "What do you mean?" she asked, hoping that it was not for the worst.

He stopped. "I'm leaving, period. I'm tired of being a Titan... I've been belittled, mistreated, and stomped on... especially by your brother."

Christina held him from behind, not wanting him to leave her. "He didn't understand! I don't care if he does... I wouldn't know what to do if you'd leave me!"

"I've already decided. I'm going to join Wrinkle... and not one person will stop me." Scaly said.

"No!" Christina cried, holding him closer from behind with tears flowing down her face. "Stay here! Don't—!"

Christina stopped talking after noticing that Scaly was then behind her with a turned back. She suddenly felt faint from a deep punch to the middle of her spine. She immediately fell to the ground, unconscious for the rest of the night.

"I'm sorry... but my mind's made up. Even you would have to fight me to get me to change my mind, but even so, that won't happen... I promise you that. Thank you... and goodbye." With just the move of a Flash Step, Scaly has exited Titans Tower.

**/-/**

Scaly leaves and Christina is heartbroken. :(

The team forms in the next chapter.


	3. The Retrieval Team

Chapter 3 — The Retrieval Team

**_Current time: Friday, February 13th... 10:00AM. The Home Base grand living room._**

"Shouldn't we have left with the rest of the Titans? I mean, Dotty has set up a defense mechanism for this base." Pouch said.

"We can't be too sure." Scorch replied. "Sweet needed us to stay just in case Wrinkle pulls a fast one on us. We'll get to see the full Moon Base later... until then, we have time to relax, so I'm jumping into the hot tub. Are you in?"

"Okay." Pouch smiled, leaving with the dragon.

The rest of the Protection Squad were scattered among the living room.

Sly was flipping through the channels with Crunch. Nothing that they thought was good was on.

"Lame... lamer... boring... boredom. Wait... never mind." Sly continuously mumbled.

"Gimme the remote." Crunch uttered, snatching the remote from Sly with his sharp teeth.

"Whoa, man... watch it! Those chompers of yours could've ate my hand!" Sly freaked.

"I tend to be careful... sometimes."

Sly: o_0

Chipper came running from the Memory Room. "Sis, look what I found!" Chipper said, holding a spiraling purple glass sphere to Megan.

"Mystic's Crystal Ball? Why'd she leave it?"

"I dunno, but I say we use our Sharingan to pick up something. The more the merrier."

Megan raised her eyebrow. "I don't know... what do you say Fortune?"

"Do what you want... I'm not toying with Mystic's things." the female panda responded.

Meanwhile, Slowpoke notices Christina sitting at the bar. To him, she seemed shaken by something. He went over to her.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Uh-uh." she uttered, turning away from him.

"What is it? Come on, you can tell me." Slowpoke was trying to get through to her.

"I can't."

"Christi..."

"Why do you shorten my name...?"

Slowpoke sighed. "Don't change the subject. I'm trying to help you. What's the problem?"

Christina finally whispered to Slowpoke that Scaly left the Titans to join Wrinkle.

"WHAT? HE DIDN'T!" Slowpoke shouted.

Sly muted the TV, hearing the sloth yell out. "Who didn't?" Sly interrogated.

The seven of them gather up—Slowpoke had to drag Christina over, before she could run away in refusal to reveal the news to the rest.

"I'm not talking!" the skunk said, turning her head.

"I will. Megan, remember when you found Christina unconscious in the Suites? (Megan nods.) Scaly did it to her." Slowpoke explained.

"Over what—another argument?" Sly guessed blatantly, crossing his arms.

"Worse. He running away to Wrinkle."

"WHAT?" shrieked the group. Sly felt a little guilty, as he and Scaly were both friends and rivals.

"He says that no one's gonna stop him." Slowpoke added.

"Oh, man..." Crunch groaned.

"I'd like to put that to the test. We need to know where he is, now." Sly said.

"Okay, Chipper. Let's do it." Megan said, giving the permission for Chipper and herself to use their Sharingan to get the Crystal Ball to function. It pinpointed Scaly's position.

"He's heading to the chain of forests that are northwest of Texas, on a direct route to Wrinkle's base." Fortune analyzed.

"Should we tell your parents that we're going to get him?" Crunch asked Sly.

"Only that only **we **are going. We don't want to risk the safety of our home, so they're gonna have to stay and trust that we can get Scaly back. Let's go."

"I'm not going!" Christina whined.

"Christina! This is no time to be weak! This is—!" Sly started to raise his voice.

Slowpoke put his hand on Sly's shoulder, interrupting him. He knew that Sly would belittle her, without noticing about how he spoke to her. "Wait, Sly. Let me talk to her." he insisted.

Slowpoke brought her out to the side, away from her brother. He spoke only to her.

"Okay. I don't know if he told you this already, but Scaly is going through with this, whether we like it or not. We don't, so we're gonna try and change his mind, one way or another. If not you, Sly is the only one who can really get through to him. I need you to come with us."

Christina still refused. She was too hurt to even confront her ex-boyfriend again. "I don't care... I won't fight him!" She dropped to her knees, while Slowpoke still had a grip on her shoulders. "I won't..."

Even trying to persuade her, Slowpoke could see that she was heartbroken by what Scaly said and did to her. Just like in Scaly's case, nothing that anyone could say or do would Christina's mind.

"Christi..." Slowpoke murmured in concern, getting on his knees as well to show sympathy.

Sly tapped Slowpoke's shoulder, showing concern as well. "Time's ticking. We'll just have to leave her here, Slowpoke." Sly said.

The sloth sighed and stood, but still had one of his hands on Christina. The rest were on their way out of the Tower.

"I tried. From the bottom of my heart, I tried to help you because I care about what you're going through, Christi... a bunch. But sometimes... you just have to have the strength to just let things go for the greater good. Still, I care enough to reach out to you when you're in a wreck. Until we get Scaly back, I'll see you later." Slowpoke whispered to her, before following the other five out of the Home Base.

* * *

Five minutes later, Christina thought about Slowpoke's last words.

_"Because you... care."_ she thought. His words cheered her up a little. "Mom, dad!" she called, finding them in their room. She told them about what's happening.

"What should we do now?" Pouch questioned.

"Pouch, get the Healing Chamber ready." Scorch said. The kangaroo leaves. "Christina, I want you to go and find one of the six of them and check on them. If they're hurt badly, use these Teleport Spheres to get them back here. We can't interfere, but we still have to make sure that they don't die. I'm certain that Wrinkle knows that Scaly is coming and that he sent out most of his team to ensure that Scaly gets to him. They will show no mercy on the six of them, but I want you to bring ONLY ONE of them back; I'll bring back the rest."

"All right." Christina replied, understanding the situation and exiting the Tower within moments.

Scorch was deeply concerned. _"Can they really pull this off? For Scaly, they have to. They aren't as strong as the Legendary 12... but they have a slim chance."_ Scorch thought.

**/-/**

The action begins next.


	4. Caring, Thy Name is Slowpoke

Chapter 4 — Caring, Thy Name is Slowpoke

The six Bean Titans made their way to the start of the chain of forests that Scaly has already entered. The chain begins in western New Mexico, and arcs around into the southern area of Nevada. The Titans could not let Scaly get past that point, or all hope for him is lost. They knew that there was no turning back, so they began their hot pursuit on the komodo dragon, jumping from tree to tree.

None of the team spoke until they got to the border of New Mexico and Arizona.

"We can't let him join Wrinkle like Claude did." Sly said.

"You're one to talk. I thought you didn't like Scaly." Chipper pointed out.

Another awkward pause.

Sly sighed. "It's because I was protecting my sister. I understand now that I was overdoing it."

"She should have more freedom, Sly, to make her own choices." Slowpoke told him. "I know she turns 15 today, but I know that she'd be more comfortable if people, family included, would stop holding her down. The only change I see with her is her purple and black revolution that she wears. Personally, it's not that bad."

That was when Sly's total attitude toward his sister changed. "...You're right. So guys, here's my promise... since Scaly's pretty much out of her life now, I won't be bugged with the next person that ends up with her." Sly vowed.

"Scaly! Up ahead!" Megan alerted the group.

"He's moving pretty slow..." Slowpoke jested, using more energy to catch up with the komodo dragon. "Scaly!" he then called out to him.

Scaly scoffed, knowing that someone was going to try and stop his plans. He turned his head with his weaker, but still effective Poison Gaze in his eyes. Slowpoke saw the green gleam from the corner of Scaly's right eye, turning away from it.

"Blood Rift Slice!" Scurry shouted from behind Slowpoke.

"Oh snap!" Slowpoke exclaimed, evading the attack at the last second.

The scene immediately changed to an bird's eye view of their location. A sudden flash of red raced south-bound, slicing all the tall trees to shreds. The view returned to normal, with Slowpoke and Scurry facing each other on the treetops.

Scaly stopped for a second, to look at one of his new allies. Having doing that, he continued on the move.

"What are you waiting on?" Slowpoke said to his team. "Go get Scaly!"

"While you fight Scurry by yourself? All you have are your arms, legs and the Kamehameha Wave." Crunch said.

"It'll have to do. Go! Time's running out!"

"I trust him. Let's move." Sly told the group.

Slowpoke's team left him to continue chasing Scaly, who was now moving faster than before.

* * *

"You know," the beetle said, sharpening his razor sharp arms, "you probably should have left with them."

"And what—let you pick us off one by one? Not happening." Slowpoke replied.

"You're WAY in over your head right now..."

"How about I beat into yours?" Slowpoke retaliated, bursting forth to fight Scurry. He led with a fist.

Scurry blocked it. "Not gonna happen." He then threw Slowpoke to the side and used a Crimson Blade (sharp energy strike) from one of his arms to follow him.

Slowpoke saw the red "blade" coming, and avoided it by catching a branch by his hands and slinging himself back at Scurry, barely passing under the sharp energy wave. He let out a battle cry, aiming to hit Scurry with hammer-locked fists.

"You're taking me very lightly right now." Scurry murmured, prepared to slice Slowpoke in half with his Blood Fang Slash. He connected... with a mirage. "Wait, what?"

"Kamehameha!" Slowpoke yelled from behind, firing the fearsome blue blast upon Scurry. It was a direct hit, sending him down to the ground.

After the landing, Scurry slowly got up. _"Damn it... why's that blast so powerful no matter who uses it?"_ he wondered.

Slowpoke jumped down to the ground, knowing that he was still alive after that. _"I can use that two more times... I need to make them count. He should be finished by then."_ Slowpoke thought out.

"All right, sloth boy. No more games." Scurry said, powering up to the degree of power from the San Francisco takeover years ago. His force cleared away a small surrounding area of forestry.

"I don't have a choice." Slowpoke replied, answering back with his Legendary power.

"Blades of Blood!" Scurry shouted, cutting the air in front of him with all of his legs, causing razors of red light to burst out at Slowpoke.

Slowpoke began to run to the side to avoid the blades. _"Man, I really need more powers—all I have is the Kamehameha."_

While he was running, he found a big mirror on the ground. It was strange that someone would leave something like that in the middle of the forest. He used it to block the Blades of Blood, until the last one broke the mirror in half.

"What do you plan on doing with that mirror, huh?" Scurry asked from afar.

_"I actually do have a plan..."_ Slowpoke thought to himself. He threw the first half of the mirror directly at Scurry and threw the other boomerang-style to the right.

Scurry avoided the first mirror piece. "Really, that's all you have?"

"Ka-me-ha-me..." Slowpoke chanted again, preparing to use the fearsome blast a second time. However, he fired the blast at a certain time... "HA!"

Scurry evaded the blast, jumping to his right. "Sorry, you missed!"

"Did I, really? You broke the mirror remember? Here's a little bad luck for you." Slowpoke responded. The Kamehameha Wave met with the other mirror piece, reflecting the blast at double speed directly at Scurry.

"Aaaaaaaaahh!" Scurry exclaimed, hit by the blast, sending him back into the trees behind him and being shrouded with dust.

Slowpoke panted. "I guess I don't have to use it a third time... I don't even think I have enough in me to do it anyway. I hope that did it..."

After a moment, Slowpoke was suddenly trapped by the Swords of Revealing Light, making him unable to move. "What?" Slowpoke uttered, startled by this.

"I have news for you... it didn't do it." Scurry said, emerging from the dust with a narrow sword in his hand.

"What is that?" Slowpoke shuddered.

"Well, since you can't move for three minutes, I'll tell you before you die. I summoned this zanpakutō using my Swordplay technique."

"Swordplay?"

"It enables me to wield any one blade known to mankind, real or not. However, I can only use one of its abilities—even if it's just one attack of the sword. I have a bit of luck after all, as this is just the blade I need. This zanpakutō, Senbonzakura, has special abilities—one of which I will use on you. You won't escape the Swords, so you're finished now." Scurry turned the zanpakutō so that it pointed to the ground, then released it. It slowly passed through the ground. "Bankai." the beetle said slowly.

The battle scene brought them into a hall of giant Senbonzakuras. Slowpoke had fear in his eyes.

_"This... looks bad..."_ Slowpoke thought to himself.

"It's over. Scatter... Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." Scurry declared. The blades around the hall dispersed into millions of cherry blossoms and blew across Slowpoke.

In a matter of seconds, the Swords of Revealing Light and many of the trees surrounding Slowpoke were reduced to shreds in an instant. Immediately after, Slowpoke had a thousand cuts on his body... and suddenly, blood purged out from every one of those cuts. Slowpoke was brutally unable to fight after that, falling to the ground.

Senbonzakura disappeared. "I hope you've lived a good 19 years Slowpoke... next are your friends." Scurry said, living up to his title as Wrinkle's assassin. He went out to chase after the rest of the Retrieval Team.

* * *

"I can't find anybody out here." Christina said, still desperately trying to find any of the Bean Titans that were trying to catch Scaly.

Luckily, she eventually found someone... but she had a bad reaction to it. Christina saw the battle-scarred sloth, in a bloodbath.

"Slowpoke!" Christina cried horrifically, seeing his condition. "What happened to you?" She lightly touched him by the chest while holding a Teleport Sphere to bring him back to the Home Base. "Please, don't be dead..."

She instantly appeared in the Healing Chamber, where her mother was. Pouch was stricken at the sight of the sloth.

"Oh my...!" Pouch uttered, with a hand over her mouth.

Christina was crying again. "He's hurt very, very bad... please don't die." she whimpered.

"I'll do what I can, sweetie." Pouch assured her, placing Slowpoke on the regeneration resting bed.

Christina sat on the bench in the waiting room, still weeping over Slowpoke. _"I should have listened to him..."_ she thought.

Scorch saw his daughter's reaction to Slowpoke's condition. _"Those cuts... Scurry. _(aloud) Pouch, I'm going out to get the others, one-by-one." Scorch said.

"Okay."

_"That bug is gonna pay."_ Scorch growled, exiting the Tower in an instant via Flash Step.

**/-/**

Has Slowpoke met his fate? Will Christina ever hear him again? Will the Retrieval Team succeed in this mission?

Find out later on.


	5. Fishy Dreams

Chapter 5 — Fishy Dreams

While Slowpoke's fight was occuring, the rest of the Retrieval Team were already in eastern Arizona, still gaining on Scaly. They finally caught up to him again.

"There he is again!" Chipper alerted the group.

"He's mine!" Crunch declared, zooming ahead with an aim to bite Scaly's tail off.

Unfortunately, a sudden spider web blocked his route (granting Scaly more escape time) and Ants kicked the shark down towards the ground. Crunch recovered from his landing.

"Sorry, but you're gonna have to get through us to get to Scaly." Ants told the Retrieval Team.

"Let's get 'em!" Chipper shouted, as she, Sly, Megan and Fortune charged in to fight the anteater (who is also assisted by the Spider twins, Spinner and Spanner).

"Surf." Crunch chanted, summoning a wave of water to take his comrades through the web barrier created by the Spiders.

"Crunch, what are you doing?" Fortune interrogated.

"Don't let Scaly get away—I'll handle these three."

"Alone? Look at your odds!" Megan pointed out.

"Strength comes from the heart, not from numbers. Let me handle this." Crunch begged.

"Crunch..." Sly paused, "don't die here, okay? Let's go girls."

The four Bean Titans continued on.

Ants chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Crunch asked, with a serious face.

"It's a shame, really... the fox has a point there: you may have just made your death wish." Ants replied.

"You've got to be dreaming to beat even one of us... but three of us? It's impossible!" Spinner stated.

"FYI, I've said it before... strength is in the heart, not in the numbers." Crunch sharpened his steel teeth and pointed at his foes. "I aim to prove that, so don't celebrate just yet! Echo Chomp!" Crunch then commenced the battle by creating a sound wave from biting the air.

The effect of Echo Chomp is like a Genjutsu, in that whoever is inflicted by the sound wave directly will be trapped in a seemingly endless loop of biting, as if zombies were eating away at the victim's flesh. The Spiders saw this coming, but Ants was hit directly by the Echo Chomp. He kneeled down, yelling out in growing pain.

_"It's a good thing Spinner and I can sense illusions..._ what did you do to him?" Spanner questioned.

"How about you worry about what I'm gonna do to you?" Crunch responded.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Crunch went on fighting the Spiders for another ten minutes. He appeared to have the upper hand over them, while Ants was still stuck in the Echo Chomp illusion.

The battle came to a standstill, after Crunch slapped the Spiders down with his tail fin.

"Had enough?" Crunch said, panting after so much effort into the fight up to this point.

The arachnids laughed maniacally, after bringing Crunch down to the ground by his tail fin, using webs to stabilize him. Crunch was mildly startled.

"You've been the bait all this time, shark. Now you'll suffer." Spinner told him.

Crunch looked back over to where Ants was to see Claude (the defiant crab) in his place. Claude was there the whole time, having sacrificed himself in order to give Ants enough time to summon his Black Reaper Ant against Crunch.

"His legs are tied down. Kill him." Ants commanded his Reaper.

The black ant charged in and forced Crunch through the forest, using two of its legs to run, two to push Crunch, and the last two to attack him. Crunch was led back into a spring and was pushed into it by the Reaper Ant, who followed after Crunch for the kill.

Ants, Spinner and Spanner moved to the spring to see what had happened. To ensure that Crunch was executed, the Spiders used their Cobweb Seal—sending thin, yet sticky webs to cover the spring up. After about a minute, they heard nothing from Crunch or the Black Reaper Ant.

"Looks like he's finally dead." Spanner assumed.

"Wait...!" Ants whispered, hearing very faint chants from the spring.

"Drown... Flood... DELUGE!" Crunch shouted from under the spring, suddenly bursting out of the spring and dispersing all of the cobwebs with a massive flood that covered a mile of forest land. He then trapped his foes by spiraling all of the water into a twister. While controlling that, Crunch ascended to his Steel Shark Mode and began to chant quiet words while using various hand signs.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Crunch finally said, calling upon a dragon made from the water in the vicinity to crush his foes.

It was a success, as Ants and the Spiders were rendered motionless on the ground after the intense currents of water inflicted upon them.

Crunch powered down in relief and in victory; however, he was left with little energy. He needed to rest on a tree to recover some, if not all, of his energy. _"Strength from the heart... like I said."_ Crunch thought, having proved his point.

Suddenly, he felt instant pain, before seeing blood gash out from the core of his body. Crunch then blacked out. Scurry did this, using Flash Step to appear behind the tree he rested on and using his Executioner's Strike—a direct hit stab that cuts through anything.

"Body count: 2." Scurry said. "Who'll be next?"

Scurry continued in pursuit of the Retrieval Team.

* * *

Minutes later, Scorch found Crunch in his present, lifeless state.

"Crunch..." he murmured, seeing the second victim of Scurry after recognizing the hole in Crunch's chest. "Ember of Vengeance." Scorch said, emitting a golden flame that heeded to any of Scorch's orders. "Target Scurry."

The flame zoomed away from Scorch, in search of the homicidal beetle.

Scorch picked Crunch up. _"Scaly is causing his friends and allies to suffer... Sly, you have to be the one to get through to him."_ Scorch thought out, using a Teleport Sphere to return Crunch back to the Home Base.

**/-/**

This is bad news. First Slowpoke, and now Crunch. Who will be next, indeed?

More will be revealed in the next couple of chapters.


	6. Divide and Conquer

Chapter 6 — Divide and Conquer

Scaly is still on the run, now in mid-Arizona. Soon, he is stopped by Burn and Bruno, Wrinkle's direct welcoming committee.

"Burn and Bruno." Scaly acknowledged the canines.

"Yes... why are you stopping? Keep going—Wrinkle's expecting you." Burn told the young komodo dragon.

"We know of your plans as well... we have your back. Now go." Bruno said.

Scaly understood, continuing past the dynamic duo and eventually entering an open field after another mile. While moving, he noticed another new ally in the middle of the field. _"Reptilius? So now I'm gonna be on the same team as he is... heh, at least I don't have to fight him."_

The reptile glanced at Scaly as well. _"So that's who I'll be fusing with. What'll we be in six months... Sceptilius? Good plans, Wrinkle, good plans."_ Reptilius thought.

Meanwhile, the Retrieval Team ran into Burn and Bruno.

"Hold it right there." the dynamic duo said to the remaining four Titans.

"What now?" Fortune asked.

"I'll tell you what, Fortune. We'll fight these two." Chipper said.

"For a 12-year old, you really are mouthy." Sly said.

"I know."

"All right, but let's fool these guys real quick." Sly suggested to the girls, beginning to tell them about his plan.

**After a moment...**

"We're waiting..." Burn said.

"Let's go!" Sly yelled, prompting his team to jump forth at Burn and Bruno. The girls were headed straight for them.

"We're gonna punch your lights out!" Chipper said.

Strangely, Chipper and Fortune fell back while Megan kept moving toward the duo with an explosive sutra on her chest.

"She wouldn't..." Bruno murmured.

"Brace yourself, Bruno." Burn advised.

Megan self-destructed in front of them with a big cloud of smoke. Sly, who watched from the starting point, also disappeared as such.

Burn and Bruno coughed, before sensing that Sly and Megan were already on the move again, for Scaly.

"See ya later!" Sly said. Megan giggled.

"Why you little—Burn, c'mon!" Bruno said, suggesting that they stop the two of them. However, they forgot about Chipper and Fortune... and they suffered the consequence of being hit hard to the side of a huge tree.

"Told you we were gonna punch your lights out." Chipper bragged.

Burn got up. "Don't get your hopes up just yet, small fry."

"Besides, you've already lost." Bruno added, hinting that someone was about to strike the girls from behind. It was Scurry, prepared to make his body count boost to four Titans.

"I have you two now!" Scurry exclaimed, planning on using two Executioner's Strikes at once. To his dismay, he was instantly taken down by Scorch's Ember of Vengeance, which finally found the beetle and exploded on his back.

"But... how?" Burn questioned.

"Scorch did this to your buddy... and I should know, since I'm psychic and you're not. Now, where were we?" Fortune said, assuming her fighting stance with Chipper to fight the dynamic duo.

* * *

Sly and Megan continued through the chain of forest land and reached the open field area that Scaly had already traversed. Sly saw the foe ahead, waiting for anyone from the Retrieval Team.

"That can't be him of all people..." Sly said, shocked.

"Reptilius." Megan identified.

The reptile quickly shifted his eyes to them. "This is as far as you go. Now, make your move before I get impatient." he warned the two of them.

_"What now?"_ Sly wondered, not having any ideas for a good battle plan against a powerful enemy.

"I'll handle him." Megan stated.

Sly was startled. "No, Megan! We have to fight him together; there's no way that either of us could do it ourselves. You'll get killed..." Sly did not want that.

Megan sighed. "Sly, listen. We're the last two left... but, you're the only one with enough in you to get through to Scaly; even with my Sharingan's power, I would die if I tried. Whether you have to fight him or not, you have to get him back for us, especially for your sister. Well, seeing how he treated her, Christina's probably over him by now."

Sly saw her point. "Yeah, but—"

"Sly, promise her, the Titans, and me... that you'll come back in one peace, please?" Megan asked. Hearing those words, Sly knew that it was a sign, telling him not to worry about anything else and just do what he has to do for the sake of others.

"...Believe it." Sly replied with his favorite words, grasping his confidence once again. Megan gave him a kiss for good luck.

"That's real nice of you two... but your time is up." Reptilius said, moving in on the attack.

Sly immediately pushed Megan out of the way, to save her from the Poison Claw aimed for her.

"Sly!" Megan shrieked, before seeing the fox disappear like a Shadow Clone. A clone was exactly what it was, as the real Sly was already on the chase for Scaly again.

Reptilius noticed this. "You underestimate me." he said, using Flash Step to slowly approach Sly from behind. To his misfortune, Reptilius was blockaded by many of Megan's ninja projectiles, while Sly got away.

"Your fight is with me now, lizard-face." Megan said, pointing a kunai knife at Reptilius while holding it close to her confident face.

"Tch... you're a fool."

"You're a monster." she responded.

The reptile narrowed his eyes. "Touché."

They start their fight as well.

* * *

"Good luck, Megan..." Sly murmured, ascending to his Legendary strength to stop Scaly at all costs. He ventured to Lake Mead on the Arizona-Nevada border, finally seeing Scaly standing on a tall rock structure on the north side of the lake. Sly stopped on another structure, directly across from Scaly.

"Scaly!" Sly called out from afar, with his voice echoing out to Scaly.

The komodo dragon ignored his voice and made another step in the other direction without turning around.

"Not... another... step. Stop running away!"

Scaly finally turned around, with a dull yet serious look on his face. "Sly... I've already said this to Christina. I'm joining Wrinkle whether you like it or not; no one's gonna stop me either. You've never really beaten me..."

Sly was speechless for a moment. He was thinking about all the times that he had with Scaly before he started running away. As bad as some of them were, they were irreplaceable.

"What's wrong, fox? Did I strike a nerve?" Scaly asked, before getting immediately tackled by Sly and punched in the face.

"That's true. I haven't beaten you... in wrestling. This problem, right here and now, it isn't a game, man..." Sly told him. "Scaly, I won't hold back if that's what it takes to get you back. We were friends once, and if you run away from that, it'll mean nothing... you'll be nothing more to Wrinkle than just an associate."

Scaly turned his face back to Sly and spat a drop of blood in his face. "What do you mean 'we'? You can keep your affinity to yourself. What matters to me now is joining Wrinkle."

Sly grasped Scaly by his neckline, frustrated with his decision. "Joining Wrinkle! Wrinkle's the guy that goes for every chance to destroy us! Joining him will put you in that same situation; he won't just give you power for free!"

Scaly was silent for a second. "That doesn't matter. What I want is what I'll get... and if you stand in my way, it can't be helped."

"Scaly, I don't want to fight you like this." Sly said.

"That's too damn bad." Scaly responded, grasping Sly back, eventually lifting him up off of the ground. Scaly stood and punched Sly hard in his gut, with enough force to send the fox into the lake.

After about a minute, Sly eventually pulled himself to the water surface, using a bit of chakra on his feet and hands to stand as if the water was common ground. Sly looked off in disappointment. Now, he had no other choice but to use any force necessary to bring Scaly to his senses. He pulled out a small, solid glass bar and use a small amount of chakra to extend it into a long energy pole. This was the beginning of Sly's last chance to get Scaly back.

**/-/**

The fights will be split up, but the action will still go pretty smoothly.

Tune in to the action, next.


	7. The Rescue, Part I

Chapter 7 — The Rescue, Part I

Mooch and Hippie have returned to the Home Base from their uninterrupted week of training, stronger and better than when they started out. The two of them knew that most of the Bean Titans were working at the Moon Base. Pouch sensed that the two of them returned, so she told Scorch to explain the new situation to them.

Scorch met them in the Main Hall. "Hey guys." he greeted them.

"Hey, Scorch." Mooch and Hippie responded.

"Listen, I know you two just got back, but how fast can you make it to the forest chain in Arizona?"

"Pretty fast... why?" Hippie interrogated.

"Here's the trouble. Pouch, Christina and I have Slowpoke and Crunch resting in the Healing Room because they went along with Sly, Megan, Fortune and Chipper to stop Scaly from running away to join Wrinkle. Crunch and Slowpoke got cut down by Scurry—Slowpoke's wounds are tons worse than Crunch's. The fact that no one else is hurt means that Scurry is out of commission. Can you two do what you have to, whether it's saving the Titans or fighting the enemy?"

"Of course." Mooch answered.

"I need to get the Reversing Mirror real quick." Hippie said, running to his room and soon returning to the Main Hall with the small mirror in his hand. He also had his "necessary" Shen Gong Wu: the Sword of the Storm, the Blade of the Nebula, and the Crest of the Condor—all wind-based Wu.

Mooch already had his Z Sword, so they were ready to go. He put his arm around Hippie to hold on to him, while the rabbit activated his super-speed, rushing out of the Tower at a blinding speed.

* * *

_BATTLE 1 (conclusion):_ Chipper and Fortune vs. Burn and Bruno.

As Mooch and Hippie were on the move, the two-on-two fight was getting down to the wire. Bruno was taken down by Fortune, but before he was ejected from the battle, he managed to fire a Death Beam (not a death-strike) through Fortune, managing to throw her energy reserves out of balance and causing her to black out.

Chipper was nearly out of luck, as she had only her Initial Sharingan and a little amount of energy left, while Burn (mildly exhausted) was still able to fight.

Burn cackled, floating in midair over Chipper. "Give up, half-pint. I can already see that you have nothing left in you—I could take you down with one fist if I wanted to." Burn bragged.

_"He's right... I hardly have any chakra left, and it hurts to move my body. Wait...! I still have that move... I just don't know if it'll work."_ Chipper then ran back towards a tree.

Burn flew in after her. "One punch is all it'll take... and you won't be getting away from it!"

Chipper managed to crack a smile while running to the nearest tree. _"Who says I'm running?"_ she mentally responded, jumping on the side of the tree and flipping off of it. A startled Burn was stopped, as Chipper landed on Burn's neck, choking it with her legs. While she was constricting him, she hammered his head with continuous, downward arc palms, attacking his head with the top of her wrists. Once his mind began to falter from the pain, Chipper launched him off of the ground and sent him into the air. For the finish, Chipper ran up and used the amount of chakra she had left to kick Burn in the back of the head with her Comet Kick—simply an energy-based kick with just enough power to knock Burn out. This entire sequence was called the Half-Beast's Barrage.

After her final move against Burn, she started to crawl in the direction where Sly and Megan went. "I have to... keep... going..." she uttered, before falling unconscious from lack of energy.

* * *

_BATTLE 2: _Megan (Legendary power) vs. Reptilius.

Reptilius quickly gained the upper hand, pushing Megan back every time she tried a direct attack.

She activated her Sharingan and tried a new plan, jumping high over Reptilius. She threw down a windmill shuriken.

"Really?" Reptilius uttered bluntly, prepared to easily dodge the projectile. He did not expect the shuriken to disperse and land as a square around him. Suddenly, the weapon came back together again, containing Reptilius and binding him with thin wires.

_"Perfect... I can finish him here and now."_ Megan thought, still hovering over Reptilius with the leading wire end in her mouth. _"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"_ Megan unleashed her most powerful jutsu, channeling a big wave of fire at Reptilius.

Reptilius took the damage head-on, shaving off about a quarter of his health. _"I'm still here..."_ he mentally said, before sensing that Megan had disappeared from the air. "What?"

"I'm not done yet!" Megan told him, kicking him up into the air. She planned on following up with her Lions Barrage, using Dancing Leaf Shadow to appear under Reptilius in midair. "Take this!" She tried to kick the side of his body, but Reptilius faded away into a green miasma. He reformed himself under her, as if he were using her own Dancing Leaf Shadow against her. She turned around to see her foe, and that was the worst mistake of the battle.

"Serum Gaze." Reptilius murmured, penetrating her mind with a toxic boom, causing her to nearly black out in an instant. The squirrel fell to the ground, but slowly tried to pull her self up despite her dismantled senses. Reptilius showed no mercy, as he knocked her unconscious with his tail to the back of her head. He actually aimed to kill her, preparing to fire an Acid Blast on her. That was until...

"Deflection." Mooch said, suddenly appearing between Megan's body and Reptilius, throwing the Acid Blast off with the sheath of the Z Sword. "That's enough." Mooch told him.

Reptilius sensed Hippie also, who set Chipper and Fortune down nearby, yet completely safe from the reptile's clutches. Hippie did the same for Megan, after Reptilius distanced himself from Mooch.

"Ya think we can beat him?" Hippie whispered to Mooch.

Mooch unsheathed the Z Sword. "One way to find out."

The two-on-one fight begins.

* * *

_BATTLE 3 (Stage 1 of 5):_ Sly vs. Scaly.

Sly, still standing on the lake, used his Shadow Clone Jutsu for four clones. The five of them ran up the rock that Scaly stood on—each wielding an Energy Pole, in an effort to make the first big offensive on the komodo dragon.

"Bring it." Scaly uttered, seeing the five Slys in the air.

He expected them to attack with the poles. Instead, they threw them straight up, over Scaly's position. The poles bounced off of each other and slowly began to form a pentagon in the spaces between them; the ends of the poles are the pentagon's corners. Following this, the five Slys used their Fire Fox technique—shrouding themselves in a flaming aura—and converged within the empty pentagon. They pulled the poles together while enflamed, then the clones disappeared, while the real Sly called out "Burning Emblem" to command a powerful blast of fire to descend from the pentagon to Scaly. At the last second, Scaly used Flash Step to avoid the blast and appear on the lake.

"Hey!" Sly called, fifty meters away from Scaly, on the lake as well.

Scaly looked over to see Sly, who was swirling chakra into a ball in his hands—the Rasengan. "Two can play at that game..." Scaly mentioned, generating an Acid Sphere in his hand.

The two of them ran up to each other and clashed with both orbs of energy. The collision of both balls made powerful pressure waves in the air, pushing the water below them and forcing great gales of wind in all directions. Sly and Scaly were eventually forced away from each other after the clash.

Scaly hissed. _"I guess I'm gonna have to get serious."_ Scaly thought, ascending to Legendary Power. Sly matched him, still worried about seriously hurting Scaly. The komodo dragon did not care, using his Serum Volley (a barrage of acid blasts) on Sly.

The fox evaded the blasts, but was tricked into an immediate physical assault from Scaly. As he was getting inflicted with pain, Sly could not find it in him to go beyond his Legendary strength to overpower Scaly. However, he finally realized how careless that Scaly was becoming with his own well-being—not just with others. While being held in a chokehold by Scaly (who was prepared to plunge an Acid Sphere through Sly), Sly acted on the opportunity to slowly use his "other" chakra; it was a burnt orange color and the source of this energy came from the special mark on his stomach. This energy began to form an aura around the fox.

Scaly witnessed this, feeling Sly's power gradually growing. He pushed his Acid Sphere through Sly's chest, and it seemed that Sly's energy immediately disappeared. "It's too late, Sly... it's over." Scaly uttered.

**/-/**


	8. The Rescue, Part II

Chapter 8 — The Rescue, Part II

_BATTLE 2B:_ Mooch and Hippie vs. Reptilius.

Both of the Titans knew how tough Reptilius was. He could defeat a member of the Legendary 12 with one or two doses of his Serum Gaze, and yet he is less than half as strong as any Acolyte at the least. If they were not careful, they would crumble. Fortunately, Mooch and Hippie are very focused when it comes to fighting.

"Sword of the Storm!" Hippie shouted loud, swinging the golden sword to command gusts of wind to burst at Reptilius. The reptile remained stable, but he still felt the force behind the air. He sensed Mooch was flying in towards him through the wind.

Mooch attempted to strike Reptilius with the large Z Sword. The foe tried to counter it with his iron-hard tail, but wound up getting it cut in half.

"Aaaahh!" Reptilius yelled in pain. The wind stopped.

"Sorry, but your tail just doesn't cut it anymore." Mooch told him.

Reptilius backed up a little. "How did you cut off my tail?" he asked abruptly.

"It was my Sword Slash Wave. I used a long-ranged energy slash up close, and it cuts through almost anything. I didn't hit you with my sword itself... I may not even need to."

Reptilius hissed. "You watch your mouth monkey..."

"Or what?" said Hippie.

Reptilius shuddered quickly, hearing the ty-dye rabbit behind him. _"I didn't even hear him moving... was it a Flash Step?"_

"Fast, aren't I? Maybe you'd be able to catch me if you'd stop talking..." Hippie ascended to his Wudai Mode (Ascended Legendary). "Otherwise, you'll never see me coming! Wudai Star Wind!"

Reptilius was sent into the air. At that point, he was through with being pushed around. "That does it..." he murmured, manifesting and enlarging his power level. He was now in his Plague Mode, as his entire body glowed green. He then used his Serum Annihilation Blast—a beam of green light that works just like his Serum Gaze, only the effect inflicts a "death toxin" on anyone caught in the beam. He aimed it at Mooch.

"Mooch, move!" Hippie told him.

"What are you gonna do now, monkey?"

Mooch stood where he was and drew a circle with the sword.

Hippie widened his eyes. _"He's gonna use it...?"_

"Transcend... Zen no Kyoudoutai." Mooch uttered, calling the true name of his sword (now a true zanpakutō), which basically means "entire zodiac." His blade was now bright, made of pure diamond, and it was unbreakable. The black guard of the zanpakutō was shaped like a twelve-edged star. "This fight is over." Mooch claimed.

"How so?" Reptilius questioned, as his blast made contact with Mooch's sword.

"Soshi ('element'): Colossus Blade." Mooch said, making his blade triple in width and glow in a silver color. Mooch also reflected Reptilius's own blast against him, causing his mind to shutdown... but since he was immortal along with Wrinkle, the death toxin did not have an effect on him. Still, Reptilius was slowly blacking out as he fell from the air.

"But... how?" Reptilius managed to say, descending.

"Allow me to explain. Zen no Kyoudoutai is the name of my blade. It grants me the ability to control all aspects of the zodiac, which really means that I have many special abilities to choose from. I start out with the use of the ten elements as my **shikai**—my blade's initial release. In shikai form, Zen no Kyoudoutai reveals its twelve alternate forms—ten of which I can use already. My Colossus Blade, for example, is the metal form of my blade. With it, I can deflect or reflect any beam with ease. In other words, you suffer the consequences. And the truth is that I only know half of what Zen no Kyoudoutai can do... and if it's just this powerful with an initial release, imagine how strong it would be when I discover more of its secrets."

Mooch sheathed his zanpakutō, as the fight was certainly over.

"We're done here, aren't we?" Hippie asked.

"Not yet. Sly's still out there, and knowing him, he's already found Scaly and is trying to get him back as we speak."

Hippie nodded. "What now?"

Mooch thought for a moment. "You're faster... so why don't you take the girls back home, while I go and make sure that Sly's alright?"

"All right." Hippie dashed over and grabbed Megan first. She managed to open her gray eyes, now out of unconsciousness.

"Hippie? Mooch?" she recognized them.

"It's okay, Megan. I'll take it from here. Go with Hippie." Mooch told her, running off to find Sly.

"Where's he going?"

"To find Sly, to see if he's alright. You, Chipper and Fortune look pretty beaten, and we can't take any more risks... so I have to take you guys back to the Home Base." Hippie explained.

"Okay." she replied, as Hippie carried Fortune and Chipper in his arms.

"Jump on." Hippie told Megan, telling her to get on his back and hold on to him.

She listened, but was worried. "You're carrying three of us... isn't that a bit much?" Megan questioned.

"Not if I get a bit of air going beneath me." Hippie responded, generating gusts of air under him. "Air Dash... hold on, Megan." Hippie then floated into the air, still holding the three girls. They all dashed off towards home, with Hippie acting as a jet.

**/-/**

The mission is almost over.


	9. The Outcome

Chapter 9 — The Outcome

_Sly vs. Scaly, Stage 2..._

Scaly thought he had the fight won after plunging his Acid Sphere through his chest. Sly suddenly gripped Scaly's wrist, as his inner energy was seen again. Gripping the komodo dragon hard enough, Sly made Scaly back off of him. Scaly looked back as his "friend", whose energy began to move the air and water around them; Sly was standing now, as if the impact from the Acid Sphere did not affect him in any way. Scaly could not believe it.

Sly (Kyuubi Mode—Ascended Legendary) punched the air between Scaly and himself, making a transparent force wave push Scaly back.

_"What the...?"_ Scaly thought, not expecting the force wave. He did not foresee Sly immediately following up with a series of combinations to inflict further pain on Scaly, no matter where he tried to go. The fox was now willing to break Scaly's bones to stop him from joining Wrinkle.

"You say it's too late... well I got news for ya—I don't think so!" Sly said to him, still assaulting Scaly.

_-_(_Stage 3)-_

After about three minutes, Scaly had taken on a lot more of Sly's punishment. But after a while, he could somehow predict many of Sly's swift movements. _"Wait... his patterns that I couldn't see before—I see them now." _He did not know it, but Scaly's pupils (eyes) dilated, making him able to decipher Sly's moves and maybe even counter them. Scaly eventually threw Sly underwater.

_"What is it gonna take?"_ Sly wondered, presuming that his current power level would be enough to persuade Scaly into coming back to the Bean Titans. Sly then began to use his Shadow Clone Jutsu, ready to turn up the heat on this battle.

Scaly sensed more than one hundred Slys flying out from beneath the lake, ready to beat down on Scaly some more. Unfortunately, the komodo dragon caught on to just about every one of Sly's tricks. Soon, Scaly's legs were grasped from under him, as a chain of Sly clones emerged from the lake and rammed him against a high rocky wall.

"Serum Flare!" Scaly shouted out, unleashing a poisonous Cero-like beam on all the clones, instantly disintegrating them.

The real Sly was the one who grabbed Scaly's legs; he was still alive, barely avoiding contact with Scaly's attack. Sly looked back in utter shock, as the poisonous blast created a valley through a nearby mountain pass. "No way..." Sly said.

Scaly got frustrated, seeing that Sly just would not quit. "Just give up, Sly!" Scaly ordered, pushing Sly off of the cliff. He went after the the fox, connecting with his piercing Poison Claw on Sly's back. The fox was driven to the ground near the water, and ended up floating motionless on the lake.

-_(Stage 4)-_

Sly temporarily found himself in the hall of a realm with a demonic atmosphere. He heard a growl, coming from the end room of the hall. It was familiar to him, as he heard the same growl while he was training to gain his Ascended Legendary power. _"That growl... and where am I anyway?"_ Sly wondered, following the sound.

He found a great iron gate in the room where the growl was coming from; the gate was specially sealed, though. Revealing its evil eyes behind the gate, a beast shrouded in a dense dark-red aura appeared.

"Wh...what are you?" Sly questioned in quiet shock.

"We finally meet face-to-face, Sly. And to answer your question... I am the Kyuubi spirit—a nine-tailed Fox." the beast spoke, faintly showing its nine tails behind himself.

Sly had never encountered him, but when he looked down to his stomach, he saw the mark slowly revealing itself. "What's going on?" Sly questioned.

"I'll explain. I am the demon fox that lives inside of you, which is why that curse mark is permanently on your belly. It has been destined that I am within you, and that I can grant you power beyond your imagination... for a price."

Sly bowed his head, to sum up all of the information that the Kyuubi has told him.

"You do know that you are about to die, right?" the Kyuubi told Sly.

"First off..." Sly started. The Kyuubi quietly growled. "You just told me that you live inside me, right?"

"Yes. You are my hosting body."

"Even though I can see that you could rip me to shreds in a matter of seconds... this is still **my **body, so I'm in control!"

The Kyuubi was stagnant. "And?"

"And... I know that I'm pushing death here, but... if I die, you come along with me. So how about this: we help each other out, so that we both live."

The Kyuubi smiled evilly. "You make a valid point." he replied, extending one of his tails to Sly. "But I must warn you... do not be overwhelmed by the power I will grant you, or it will consume you whole... then you will no longer be the one in control. Nevertheless, *_his tail touches Sly's body*_ we have a deal."

Sly grasped the tail, and a protective barrier of the reddish chakra slowly wrapped itself around his body.

He was brought back to consciousness, and the red aura was revealed to Scaly, who did not believe that Sly even had another breath in him. He was even more surprised at the new form that Sly had, whose tail was replaced with a more ominous and demonic one. The komodo dragon moved closer to Sly, who was slowly being lifted back to his feet.

Sly suddenly glared at Scaly with his now red eyes and punched him directly in the face, throwing him back a good distance.

_"What the...?"_ Scaly thought as he flew back. Then, he sensed that Sly was somehow behind him, with another fist aimed at Scaly's back. _"How did he get there before I saw him?"_

Sly kept on brutalizing Scaly, who was trying his best to evade as many moves as possible. That was, until Sly started using his tail as a weapon, continually attempting to grasp or break Scaly.

-_(Final Stage)_-

After surviving an enlarged death-grip from the demon tail, Scaly felt that it was time to end the match. Sly was still gripping Scaly.

"Scaly, stop this now!" Sly demanded.

"I can't do that Sly..." Scaly faintly responded. _"I thought that I wouldn't have to use this, but at least it will end this fight."_ Scaly calmly manifested his Ascended Legendary power—Viral Mode. In this form, two of his scales expanded and sharpened on his back (almost like wings), and both of them are poisonous, which also gives him a slow and steady regeneration effect.

Sly snarled. "Scaly!" He then drove him into the rocky wall behind him. Stopping in the middle of the wall, Sly saw that Scaly somehow called upon a shield to protect him from most of the damage. It then bursted into a miasma, forcing Sly to jump back to the rock wall across the stream.

When the miasma cleared, Scaly had an Acid Sphere charged in his hands. Sly had no other words that he had to say, answering back by generating his Rasengan. In concurrence to their power levels, the orbs changed their appearances: the Acid Ball turned black and the Rasengan turned indigo.

Both Sly and Scaly then jumped at each other, for one final clash. They met over the middle of the stream.

"Acid Ball!"

"Rasengan!"

Both energies pressured against one another, and soon consumed Sly and Scaly in an increasingly dense black ball. Inside, the clash began to divert... and Scaly just missed Sly's heart, while Sly only managed to scratch Scaly's forehead.

* * *

In the aftermath, Scaly stood over Sly's normal body. It would be assumed that Scaly was staring at the beaten fox in pride of his own victory. Instead, Scaly was trying to take in the last moments of his friendship with Sly.

_"Sly... it's too late. I'm sorry... it's already over."_ Scaly mentally said, starting off to leave in the direction of Wrinkle's hideout. Scaly has left the Titans forever; the retrieval mission is a failure.

Moments later, Mooch arrived at Lake Mead and eventually found Sly. Scaly was nowhere in sight, giving Mooch the hint that Sly could not stop him.

"Sly... you must've tried your best." Mooch assumed, knowing his best friend. "It's okay... at least you didn't die. You need rest now."

Mooch used a Teleport Sphere to deliver Sly back to the Home Base.

**/-/**

It is official now. Scaly is no longer a hero. The best thing for the Bean Titans to do now is regroup.

One more chapter.


	10. Safe Haven

Chapter 10 — Safe Haven

Mooch appears near the Healing Room of Titans Tower, with Sly lifeless in his arms.

"Sly!" Megan exclaimed, being the first person other than Mooch to see Sly's condition. She had a ice-pack on the back of her head because of the hit she took from Reptilius's tail.

"He's back?" Christina said, coming from around the corner. There were no tears on her face now.

"It's alright. I can sense that he still has a bit of life in him; he just needs time to heal." Mooch explained.

"I have him." Pouch said, taking her son and placing him on the resting bed.

Mooch walked over to Hippie, who sat outside of the Healing Room. Christina followed.

"How're the others?" he asked the bunny.

"Chipper and Crunch are doing fine. Slowpoke..."

"Yeah?"

"He's almost healed." Hippie finished. "He could get up if he wanted to, but for some reason he just wants to stay in the bed."

Christina eavesdropped on their conversation, and might have figured out why Slowpoke refuses to get up. She went back in the Healing Room to find the resting sloth.

Scorch was at the door.

"Mooch, Hippie... you can come and check on Sly." Scorch told them. He led them to the fox.

"What's the status?" Mooch asked Pouch.

"He only has 9% of his lifeforce. It's almost as if there was some other force keeping him alive."

"Hmm." Mooch uttered, pondering on the thought.

Megan walked to Sly's bedside with a green chakra aura in her hands.

"What's that?" Hippie asked.

"Using the Sharingan, I was watching Fleece and Ewey with their healing abilities. I call this my Medical Jutsu." Megan said.

"Try it out." Mooch said, pertaining to Sly.

The squirrel suspended her hands just over Sly's body and slowly mended it back together, almost like magic.

"What?" Pouch uttered, seeing the healing progress speed up exponentially. "25%... 50%... 75! Whatever you're doing Megan, it's working! 90%!"

The group saw Sly's eyes open. The fox first drew his attention to Megan.

"I kept your promise, didn't I?" Sly said to her after realizing where he was.

* * *

Meanwhile, Christina searched for Slowpoke after checking the Healing Room. It turned out that he was in his own room, down in the Suites. Before knocking, Christina felt a feeling of reluctance because she was worried that Slowpoke was mad at her since she did not listen to him before he left on the mission. Still, she felt that she was wrong for that. She knocked.

"Yo..." Slowpoke said, in his own welcoming way to say "come in". He saw the near-gothic skunk enter his room. "Hey."

Christina looked away from him defensively, crossing her arms, yet still slowly walking towards him. Half of her mind is telling her to run, but the other told her to stay and reconcile.

Slowpoke was watching TV, but he put it on mute, concerned for Christina. "You okay?" he asked her.

"Those cuts looked bad when I first saw them." she mentioned.

"Well, most of them are gone now... I'm just making sure that they stay gone."

She suddenly starts crying again.

"What now? Are you sure you're alright?" Slowpoke asked.

"No..." Christina replied, now on her knees. "I'm sorry for not listening to you before. I thought too much for myself, and I left you guys behind. I mean, I'm over Scaly now, but I still feel sorry that the team got hurt, especially you. _Just don't hurt me..._"

Slowpoke then turned the TV off, and moved closer to her.

Nearby, Chipper hid herself near Slowpoke's room to eavesdrop. She originally intended to tell Christina that Sly was okay, but she wanted to see what would happen between Slowpoke and Christina.

Slowpoke embraced Christina, who was startled by his arms around her body. "Christi, it's alright. You've had your feelings hurt and lost by Scaly... but at least it's over. Now, stop crying... I don't like it when you do that." He wiped one tear off of her face.

"What do you mean by that?" she quietly asked.

"I already told you before: I help because I care."

With no need for more words, Christina closed her eyes and smiled, truly knowing that Slowpoke really cared for her. She presumed that he was concerned so much for her because he doesn't have a sister.

Chipper walked off. _"Oooh... I wonder what this means for them..."_ she thought, taking in the juicy moment.

* * *

Three days later, the rest of the Bean Titans returned to Home Base—which meant that the Moon Base is now fully operational. BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT.

"Hey, Mooch. You up for Surveillance?" Sly asked him. It was a "game" that he created. The object of the game is simple: find a random Bean Titan and spy on them for as much time as possible without being detected.

"Okay. Where first?"

"The quietest place in the evening time: the Suites."

The gibbon and the fox soon entered the Suites, and immediately went into stealth mode until they found someone. After a few minutes, they first saw Christina exiting her room.

"Finally, somebody!" Mooch whispered.

"Why is she holding a purple rose?" Sly questioned, never seeing it before.

She was headed for Slowpoke's room. About the rose, it was Slowpoke who gave it to her as a gift. To her, that gift was two levels away from a marriage proposal. For one, it was purple—her favorite color. On the other hand, it was a rose—her dream flower. Those two details combined made Christina realize one thing: she wanted to be with Slowpoke. Despite their four-year age difference (he's 19 and she's 15), she wanted him because he was strong, caring and considerate... and that he calls her "Christi".

Seconds later, Slowpoke emerged from his room, now fully healed from all of his cuts. Seeing him, Sly and Mooch quickly ducked around the corner, still monitoring Christina, who stopped upon the sight of the sloth, with her tail waving behind her in happiness.

"Christi?" Slowpoke uttered, surprised that she was the first person he saw right outside of his door. It was somewhat evident that he liked her as well. "Um—"

Christina impulsively ran up and covered his mouth. She was lightly blushing. "Shh." she told him, putting her arms around his neck and pulling his head into hers. Still holding the rose in her hands, she started a very passionate kiss.

Sly was speechless.

"Didn't see that coming..." Mooch whispered.

The skunk stopped the kiss after a few seconds. "I'm sorry. What were you gonna say?" she asked him.

Slowpoke smiled. "Actually..." he started, putting his arm on her lower back and bringing her into him, "you beat me to it." He restarted the kiss, wrapping his other arm around her back and leaning his lips into hers.

It was a longer kiss, as they both ended up on the wall sustaining the lip lock.

Sly and Mooch stopped their Surveillance game, turning back from their moment.

"Any objections, Sly?" Mooch asked.

"Nope." Sly said, keeping his vow of not getting into Christina's business with the next guy of her choice.

"You're not bugged? That's new for you..."

"It's my promise."

**/-/**

And that's it for BTA Part 6. Yes, Christina likes older boys. ;)

Tune in for Part 7!


End file.
